News & Notes

ServiceMaster VP runs for IL Secretary of State
ServiceMaster Vice President Dan Rutherford is running for secretary of state.

The Republican, from Chenoa, IL, is an Illinois State Senator.

Tennant names CEO
Chris Killingstad was appointed to the board of Minneapolis-based Tennant Company, and will become president and chief executive officer on December 1.

Current President and CEO Janet Dolan — who announced her retirement in May — will remain on the board through the end of 2005.

Spartan names vice president
The board of directors of Maumee, OH-based Spartan Chemical Company, Inc. promoted John Willis Swigart to the position of vice president.

Swigart first joined Spartan as an area sales representative and became distributor relations manager in 2001.

In his new position, Swigart will continue to work in the International Field and will retain many of his responsibilities relating to U.S. distributor relations, as well as actively participating in sales conventions and trade shows.

Earlex names sales manager
Earlex, Inc. hired Frank Petersen as national sales manager for its floor care division in Charlotte, NC, responsible for sales and marketing in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Burger to head breakaway JanSan coalition
The newly created Change to Win Coalition chose Anna Burger to run the organization at its first convention held in St. Louis.

Burger was selected to serve a two-year term by Service Employees International Union (SEIU) President Andrew L. Stern, Teamsters President James P. Hoffa, and UNITE HERE co-Presidents John W. Wilhelm and Bruce S. Raynor.

IFMA appoints board, fellows
The International Facilities Managers Association (IFMA) appointed five members to its board of trustees: Andreas Rohregger, Jennifer Corbett-Shramo, John McGee, Melissa Van Hagan, and Peter Kirk.

Cavanaugh, Block join Housekeeping Channel
Joan Cavanaugh, former vice president of American Public Television and The Learning Channel, and Seymour S. Block, Professor Emeritus of Chemical Engineering at the University of Florida, have become members of The Housekeeping Channel''s Technical Advisory Board.

Crovitz joins United Stationers'' board
Des Plaines, IL-based JanSan distributor United Stationers Inc. appointed Charles K. Crovitz to its board of directors, where he will serve on the company''s technology and human resources committees.

Beginning this month, top cleaning pros will argue the most controversial topics in the industry.

Log onto www.cmgreatdebate.com to read the Great Debate™, post your own comments, and vote on who won.

Shaw demands IICRC Certified Firms for warranted carpets
Shaw Industries will demand the use of only Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC) Certified Firms for the cleaning of residential carpet beginning January 2008.

Convictions of banned lock-ins carry maximum criminal penalties of 90 days in jail, and at least $5,000 for the first offense. Repeat offenses carry criminal fines as high as $20,000 — and judges can multiply criminal penalties by the number of locked-in janitors or workers.

UNICCO receives green award
The Ashkin Group LLC named Newton, MA-based UNICCO Service Company “Green Cleaning Champion” for its green services initiatives.

G-P re-invests $709M, cuts 1,100 jobs
Georgia-Pacific Corp. will repatriate $709 million from foreign operations under the American Jobs Creation Act, $673 million of which will qualify for the one-time deduction.

The Atlanta-based company will cut 1,100 jobs in a broad restructuring that aims to save the company millions of dollars a year, as well as attain a yearly operating profit of $1.2 billion in North America.

The company said it will idle up to four tissue paper machines and about 70 lines that convert a large tissue roll into smaller sizes.

Intellibot CEO Henry L. Hillman Jr. said autonomous floor scrubbers reduce labor costs by up to 85 percent, since no operator is involved.

Clorox raises prices
Cleaning supply maker Clorox Co., Oakland, CA — which has already raised prices on bleach and some Glad items — said it would boost prices on about 40 percent of its products in January.

Rubbermaid cuts jobs, closes factories
Newell Rubbermaid Inc. will cut 5,000 jobs and close about one-third of its 80 manufacturing facilities under a three-year plan that focuses on cost cuts, new products, and marketing.

Newell, which has been plagued by higher raw material costs, hopes to trim costs by more than $120 million annually by 2008 under its "Project Acceleration" plan.

Betco receives trade award
The Betco Corporation, Toledo, OH, received a Global Trades Award from the Broadcast News Corporation, Addison, TX, recognizing Betco as one of the top operating companies in the cleaning industry for 2005-2006.

BSCAI backs Green Seal® standard
The Building Service Contractors Association, International (BSCAI) will sponsor the Green Seal® Cleaning Service Standard and plans to participate as an active stakeholder.